Mark my words, Messina will be our next coach. Triano's contract wasn't set to expire until June 15, so it seems a tad premature to me that this decision has been made today. Connect that with the fact that Messina has just been presented an offer to be Mike Brown's assistant in LA. I think Colangelo is swooping in before that becomes final.

That's my theory, and in my opinion it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Colangelo said last week that he was going to make a decision on Jay over the next couple weeks and that they would meet this week. I think he's being fair to Jay and at the same time trying not to waste any time in terms of finding a replacement. If you know the guy isn't coming back then why drag it out?

Messina will be in the mix - he is a defensive minded coach afterall. He's a winner and he does have a decent pedigree.

I personally believe that the man Colangelo ultimately wants is Jerry Sloan and would be willing to pay for the guy. If Sloan's heart isn't in coaching any longer, I think it'll come down to Adelman and Messina.

Messina will be in the mix - he is a defensive minded coach afterall. He's a winner and he does have a decent pedigree.

I personally believe that the man Colangelo ultimately wants is Jerry Sloan and would be willing to pay for the guy. If Sloan's heart isn't in coaching any longer, I think it'll come down to Adelman and Messina.

why are you thinking sloan?out of curiosity.

If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

I do not see Jerry Sloan ever returning to coach. He was always a tired-looking guy, but last season set new lows for him. He looked like he aged 5 years for every game.

We are all guessing/ wishing at this point. Sloan is far more of a wish than a guess. Adelman, Frank and Woodson are solid guesses. Messina is a dark horse, regardless of his pedigree in Europe and Colangelo's affinity for Euros. Taking a shot at a guy with zero NBA experience doesn't seem like the reason to drop Triano. Mind you, reading BC's mind is like me bagging Jessica Alba- next to impossible.

Thinking Sloan because I'm not sure he really wanted to leave coaching. It was a primadonna type player that made him leave. Do I think he's gonna come out of retirement? No, not even for a Larry Brown-NYK type contract. I think he's very happy spending time at home, but from a Raptors management standpoint, I do think you shouldn't leave any stone unturned. It would be a real disservice if Colangelo didn't at least make a call to him to gauge his interest - if there was any at all.

Here's what ESPN's Rumour Section had to say about the Toronto coaching vacancy today

D'Antoni not an option for Toronto
9:47 AM ET
Options for Toronto:
Lawrence Frank. If Toronto is looking for D, Frank would be a strong candidate.
Dwane Casey. He could also land the Golden State gig.
Brian Shaw. He's well-regarded and could get a look post-Lakers.

UPDATE: Bryan Colangelo is searching for a head coach. However, he won't be looking at New York. The New York Post reports the Raptors will not ask to speak with Mike D'Antoni.

Colangelo said Wednesday that he wants a "defensive-minded" coach and that is obviously not D'Antoni.

Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo joined Brady & Lang in the Morning to discuss why he decided to decline the option on Head Coach Jay Triano's contract and what he's looking for in a new head coach.

A Coach with More Pedigree? Where does the Pedigree trail end?

First of all, a coach with pedigree can't move his ass on defence either.

Secondly, did we not hire Colagelo as a GM with pedigree? He was brought in by MLSE to have enough "pedigree" that the board would stay out of things. Now the GM needs a coach with "pedigree" to keep his ass out of things that he shouldn't be influencing. All we need now are some players with pedigree. I would prefer to not get cheerleaders with pedigree as we do not want to have a squad of highly accomplished 40 year olds cheering for our guys.

Chuck Person. Like Shaw, Person is available post-Lakers.
Adrian Griffin. As an assistant on the Bulls' staff, he had a hand in league's top defense.

We asked ESPN's John Hollinger and ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher for their thoughts on Toronto's next coach. Bucher is also hearing the Raptors would like to go with a defensive-minded coach and he lists former Lakers assistant Chuck Person and current Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin as possible options.

-- Ryan Corazza

ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher
What Raptors want may not be available

"I'm told they want a defensive guru with name recognition -- that's the going soup du jour for teams these days. The problem is, the pickings seem to be rather slim on that front. I don't see Jerry Sloan coming out of retirement and certainly not to coach in Canada. Dwane Casey is a good defensive coach but is on the verge of being tainted by being good enough to interview but not quite good enough to get the job so many times now. I'm not sure Lawrence Frank has either the name recognition or the defensive rep. So that leaves us with guys who never have been head coaches but have been in some pretty high-profile systems: Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin, both of whom are considered to have head-coach DNA."

ESPN's John Hollinger
Veteran coaches likely won't want the job

"The Captain Obvious name is Mike D'Antoni, but presuming he's back on the bench in New York we're likely to see a fresh face. Established veteran candidates like Jeff Van Gundy won't want this job, which means we probably an expect either a first-time coach or a lightly worn retread."

Imo

This idea of Vet coaches not being interested in coming to Toronto is not as much of an obstacle as some make it out to be. Sure Toronto is still in a rebuild mold and although we have a few nice pieces we don't have a strong roster.

However, there are ONLY 30 head NBA coaching jobs in the world. That's it. 30. If you want to coach in the NBA you have very limited options. I also think that GM's being older and more educated than the average nba player wouldn't be as hung up on the perspective that Canada is cold/ taxes are brutal, and all the other stuff that NBA players talk about.

I've always believed that having a "winning" organization is more important than location. Lakers vs Clippers is the obvious example. In the case of drawing a coach based on a "winning organization" I think it is probably easier to get a coach to buy into getting in on the ground floor then a player. The reason being is that the coach has a greater ability to affect that mentality than a single player. Especially if they are backed by a front office that is dedicated to winning. I think despite MLSE having a rep for being penny pincher's there have been indications that they will do what it takes to get competitive. This includes paying what it takes to get a good head coach. (At least they better be willing otherwise why not keep triano at his low salary.)

Do I think Phil Jackson will even answer his phone if Bryan calls? Absolutely not. I think that he has a slight chance of enticing Sloan, but even though I was the first to drop his name on this thread it is a long shot. If Sloan doesn't want to coach he doesn't want to coach.

However, Adelman, I think is very getable IF they are willing to pay and give him gm/assistant gm title. I don't know where to look, but how many clubs are looking to hire a head coach right now? If someone could post the number or list the clubs, I'd appreciate it. I think that if we compare the number of head coaching positions vs head coaches we'd like to get I think we find MORE coaches than positions. It doesn't guarantee we'll get one of. However I do think it's LIKELY if we are willing to PAY in terms of salary per year, or length of contract, adding additional perks like a gm title.

I think we've still got lots of options and the only reason to fire Triano is to bring in a big name guy. I think there's good odds BC will. Because he d*** well better!

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Otherwise, I agree. Great coach for player development. However it's Colangelo's job to make the best team he can. This offseason there is a veritable treasure trove of excellent coaches that are potentially available. Consider the letting go of Triano akin to not picking up a Player Option for a player with an expensive contract in an off-season rich with quality Free Agents. It's a good move by BC, I think, but I still appreciate what Triano did for all the Raptors' young players.

Thank-you so much.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

I actually threw Jerry Sloan's name in there but i dont think at his age he would want to take on a team that just came from a 22 win season with possible 5-6 new players on the roster for the upcoming season. i think he knows he already has enough gray hair.

adelman wont get back to coaching until after another year. if i remember correctly, no coach has been fired during the offseason to comeback when the regular season starts.

since frank has been mentioned a couple of times by the media, i believe he is highly being considered. i dont think BC will continue his trend of 1st time head coaches, so Brian Shaw and Dwayne Casey are out.